


Mini-Golf drabble series

by irena_adler



Series: Watson [109]
Category: Numb3rs
Genre: Drabble Sequence, Family Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, Triple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-09 15:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13484847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irena_adler/pseuds/irena_adler
Summary: Don is talked into golfing with Charlie, and things go downhill (and over the ramp and through the windmill).





	1. Mini Stakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don and Charlie go golfing.

**Mini Stakes—** ****  


“Charlie, I thought you said we were going golfing,” Don grumbled.

“This is golfing,” Charlie said brightly, stepping up to the tee.

“Anything which involves clowns and windmills is not golfing.”

“Sure, it is,” Charlie said, pointing to the pink ball in Don’s hand.“That’s a golf ball and you’ve got a golf club.You can practice your putting.”

“Real putting doesn’t involve flower pots or plastic fish.”

“Scared of a challenge?”

“Wait …” Don eyed him.“You think you can beat me?”

“Absolutely,” Charlie grinned.“This game is all about geometry.”

“Charlie,” Don said, shaking his head sadly.“You haven’t beat me at sports since … well, since never.”

“Hey, there was that air hockey game last month!”

“Doesn’t count.”

“Why not?”

“Air hockey isn’t a sport, it’s … a physical video game.”

“Now, that’s an interesting—”

“Let’s just play,” Don interrupted.“Then, when I beat you, I never have to come here again.”

“What if I beat you?”

“Not gonna happen, Chuck.”

“What _if_?”

Don laughed.“What stakes do you want?”

Charlie frowned in thought.“If I win, you and Will have to come over next time Millie wants to play cards.”

“That woman,” Don groaned, “Is a card shark.”

Charlie nodded wearily.

Don waved his golf ball at Charlie.“ _When_ I win, you and Colby have to come over next time Will wants to experiment with Indian food.”

It was Charlie’s turn to groan.“I think my esophagus still has scorch marks from last time.”

“Drink more tea,” Don said.“Is it a deal?”

Charlie looked over the geometrically-plotted landscape.It was ideal for a mathematician, not a jock.He grinned.“It’s a deal.”

“Okay, Chuck,” Don said, putting down his ball and lining up his putter.“That plastic clown isn’t gonna know what hit him.” 


	2. Nena Stakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don, Colby and Nena go golfing.
> 
> (Nena is Colby's five-year-old daughter.)

**Nena Stakes —**

“Unka Don,” Nena said.“You’re sposta hit it _over_ thuh water.”

“This is humiliating,” Don grumbled at Colby who was trying – and failing – not to laugh.

“Maybe it’s because she’s closer to the ground,” Colby smiled.

“I don’t see you doing great, either,” Don said sourly.

“I’m just learning the course.” Colby shrugged.

“Your turn.” Nena waved towards the blue ball that – for some reason Don couldn’t fathom – was in a water trough.

Don crouched on the plastic grass and fished the ball out.“One stroke penalty?”

“Yeah,” Colby said.“On par two.”

“Par two?” Don said.“How in the world are you supposed to get over the water, around the house and up the hill in two?”

“Two, Daddy!” Nena called from the other side of the house.

Don groaned.

“It’s your fault,” Colby laughed, “for mentioning mini-golfing while Nena was around.”

“I had to tell Millie that I wasn’t going to let her fleece me on a regular basis.”

“If she’d just be willing to play for candy.”

“Naw, I think she takes a special thrill in taking money from government employees.”

Colby nodded wryly.

Don set his ball down on the far side of the water and lined up his putter.“What we playing for again?”

“If Nena wins, we take her out for an ice cream sundae.If I win, she has to help Grandpa clean the cat hair out of the koi pond filter.”

“And on the off chance I win?”

“She eats her veggies for a week without complaining.”

Don flexed his shoulders, bent his knees, then gently tapped the ball.It rolled up the green, ricocheted off the house, and bounced back down the green until it rolled with a plop back into the water.

Don sighed.“I’m getting a double hot fudge.”

 


	3. Will Stakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don and Will go golfing.

**Will Stakes—**

“ _Another_ round?”Will groaned.“Don, this is ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous?”Don picked up another colored golf ball.“Ridiculous is getting beat by your five-year-old niece in any game but Candyland.”

Will shook his head.“It’s not Nena you mind getting beat by, it’s Charlie.”

“Maybe,” Don mumbled.

Will rolled his eyes and got another ball for himself.“One more round.Then we’ll go do some real golfing.”

“You say golfing’s dull.”

“Dull is watching you obsess for five minutes before hitting under that windmill.”

“Wasn’t five minutes …” Don said.“Obsess, huh?”

“Ohh yeah.”

“Just one more round,” Don said and set his orange ball on the rubber starting mat.

“How’s this?”Will asked.“One more then we’ll go over to Charlie’s.Between the two of us, I bet we can trick Charlie into playing Scrabble.”

Will had to laugh at the way Don perked up at that.It was a good thing the Eppes Brothers usually excelled in separate areas or else there’d be more regular bloodshed.

“Let’s make a bet,” Will said.

“Bets are how I got into this,” Don grumbled.

“If you win, you get to smear your brother in Scrabble.If I win by more than four strokes, you have to just barely beat him.”

“Dunno,” Don said.“Gonna be hard to barely beat him.”

Will laughed again.“Well, you’ll have to try.And you _can’t_ tell him that you’re trying to barely beat him.”

“But what if I mess up and he _wins_?I’ll never live it down.”

Will grinned.“If such a calamity looks imminent, I’ll call you and pretend I’m the office.”

“Okay,” Don agreed, frowning at his ball which was rolling too slowly to make it over the plastic ramp.

Will shook his head fondly.“I’m so glad I don’t have a brother.”


	4. Return Stakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don and Charlie go golfing again.

**Return Stakes—** ****

“You sure you want another humiliation?” Charlie asked, picking up his mini-golf club. 

“Not gonna happen,” Don said, grabbing his own club.

“After nearly losing at Scrabble last week, you should be more cautious.” 

“I was distracted!”

“Lucky for you that work called,” Charlie said.“You gonna get another convenient phone call if I’m winning today?” 

Don snatched one of the colored balls from Charlie’s hand.“Bet you a month’s worth of buying beer for the house that I don’t need any phone call.”

“Make it two months.That’ll help my grocery bill.” 

Don grinned.“Bring it on, Math Boy.”

 

Later, over beers at home, Charlie claimed that he’d let Don win because it was his birthday. 

“Good try, Chuck,” Don laughed.

“My ball was doing things counter to physics.” 

“I beat you fair and square.”

“I should get Larry out to the course.There’s probably some mysterious quantum phenomenon happening there.” 

“Man, you are a lousy loser,” Don said.

Charlie snorted.“Says the guy who’s been at the mini-golf course every night this week.” 

Don shrugged.“Good thing we’re not usually skilled in the same things.”

“I do math and you shoot guns?” 

“And never the twain shall compete.”

Charlie groaned. 

Don leaned back in his chair.“I expect to find some good quality beer next time I come over.No cheapie beer.”

“Okay, light beer.” 

“No way!” Don said.“Might as well drink water!Gotta be at least 5% alcohol.”

Charlie grinned and pointed at the empty beer bottles next to Don.“What percentage alcohol are you?” 

“Sounds like math,” Don said.“Your area.”

“Let’s see,” Charlie said, “Assume a body weight—no, body composition would be more relevant, so assume …” 

With a smile, Don tuned Charlie out and tossed his blue golf ball into the air.

 

 


End file.
